Buy or Adopt?

[Hops4Humphrey]

Hey guys.
I know this seems like a question with an obvious answer. Why wouldn’t I adopt, right? But I’m a bit discouraged. In July of 2016 I got my first rabbit, Humphrey, from the Humane Society, and a couple months later my bf (now fiancee) got a rabbit, Rosy, too. We didn’t live together but they visited each other and got along really well. Rosy had several bouts of GI stasis that we took her in for and she pulled through, and Humphrey had a whole host of issues. I knew he had a malocclusion when I got him, but was told he would be well managed with regular teeth trimmings. Well, after a few weeks of doing this, I was told by his vet that she just couldn’t keep up and his incisors needed to be removed. I did that, took him to a specialist out of state and pulled his incisors. He got an infection after which he recovered from and a blocked nasolacrimal duct, which he also recovered from. But a few months later he got a non-healing ulcer that I took him to an opthalmologist for every 2 weeks but it still didn’t heal after 4 months. So, to sum it up, he always had a lot of issues, but nothing life-threatening. Well, this year in the fall of 2017 I moved away to start vet school out of state, and a few weeks later Rosy passed away unexpectedly. It was really hard because these two were good friends and were out first pets together. And then just earlier this week, Humphrey passed away suddenly from a liver torsion. It happened so fast-he stopped eating at 10 pm on Sunday, we rushed him to emergency, took him home and brought him back in the morning, which was when he had X-ray, bloodwork, ultrasound, and was rushed into emergency surgery where he died.

Sorry this post is so depressing, but this is to point to my actual question. I feel like our rabbits, although we took the best care of them, were never very healthy. Is this because they were rescue rabbits? They were each about 2 when we got them and died by age 4. We had Rosy less than a year and Humphrey a year and nine months, and I can’t go through this all the time taking care of rescued animals. Will a rabbit from a breeder be healthier and live longer? I love the idea of rescue, and if my experiences are the exception then I would like to adopt again, but if other people who rescued have similar experiences I don’t know if I can do it anymore. I’d appreciate guidance as I begin to look for my next bunny. Thanks.

[Wick & Fable]

Adopt. It’s much more likely to have honest information about a rabbit from an adoption organization than a breeder or a store. I’m sorry to hear about your past bun, but that’s definitely not the case with a lot of adoptions. There are lots of bad breeders who are up to selling rabbits for profit, while adoptions and rescues historically are a bit more genuine and forthright about such health information.

Wick was purchased from a breeder and having him for over a year now, I know he was result of poor breeding. He was sold to us with a URI (took $1000 of medication to treat), he has a crooked jaw so he requires molar grindings every 5 weeks ($200), and he has a weaker immune system and takes longer to develop in general. Breeder said nothing about any of this, not even a blanket precaution about choosing the runt of the litter.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Luna]

I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your buns. Wick makes a really good point about looking at where the information is coming from. There are reputable breeders and there are bad breeders; there are experienced rescues and inexperienced rescues. I personally think a bun from an experienced rescue is just as likely to be as healthy as a bun from a reputable breeder.

At the rescue I volunteer at, there are buns who are 7+ years old (not sure how long each have lived at the rescue). There are only 2 buns that, to my knowledge, have recurring health issues (one respiratory issues, one molar trimmings). And whenever someone visits to meet the buns for a potential adoption, they are 100% made aware of those issues if they inquire about those particular buns.

Luna initially came from a breeder before I adopted her from her previous owner (my sister ). Yes, there was a time when I said I only wanted a bun from a breeder because I wanted complete medical history. But after gaining more experience and confidence in caring for buns, and after spending time with rescue buns, I can’t ever see myself not adopting a bun from a rescue in the future .

[kurottabun]

Would just like to commend you for your dedication to your buns – a lot of bunnies aren’t so lucky and get dumped instead.

I got my bun from a breeder, but that’s mainly because in my country there aren’t many shelters that have rabbits in the first place.

I think as Luna said, it depends on the breeder or shelter, but additionally it really also depends on the individual bunny. Some bunnies may have compromised immune systems at birth that would also start to create problems later in life. Normally breeders sell their baby bunnies at 8 weeks, and as far as they know, the baby bunny was healthy then, so they won’t take responsibility for anything that happens later.

Regardless of whether you’re getting from a shelter or breeder, remember to prepare a long list of questions to ask them – it would give you a much better idea on what to expect.

[professorzap]

I also prefer adoption, mainly because I feel like breeders (in general) are just in it for the profit and a lot of rescues/shelters are more likely to be in it for the animals (not that they always know what they’re doing). From my own personal experience, my first two bunnies were both from pet stores. One died when he was 3 and the other was 5. The one that lived until 5 was taken away too early from her mom and was never a friendly bunny. My next bonded pair came together from a rescue. One died when she was 5, the other lived until she was 10. They were sisters, but the one that was 5 when she passed had issues on and off (especially getting a place on her neck repeatedly).  Her sister did have to have molar trims every few months, but otherwise was mostly healthy.  My just previous bunny was from a rabbit rescue (a rabbit shelter in GA). Other than their probably being off on her age–she was just dumped on their doorstep without any info so they guesstimated–she was healthy for the first couple of years, then developed kidney issues (which my vet said was probably genetic unless something happened before the rescue got her). My current bunny also seems pretty healthy. I got him from a rescue, but I’ve only had him a month or so. My feeling is that whether from a breeder or shelter, they might have issues–many genetic–which don’t show up until later. I just like the rescue route partially because I like that all of mine from rescues had already been neutered/spayed, litter box trained, and vet checked.

[OnyxMoon]

Ive only ever adopted from shelters. I live in the US, in Virginia to be exact. Most of the bunnies have been in good health, as far as we know, but the bun i most recently adopted (My personal bunny, Onyx) has had nothing but health issues. He is super sweet and such a good bunny, and i think his health issues are probably genetic. So i dont think he had these just because he was in a shelter, i just think he was neglected in his previous home(s).

[Hops4Humphrey]

Thanks everyone, those are good things to keep in mind! I do still love the idea of rescue, although I do wonder what Humphrey’s life would have been like if he had owners that cared for his malocclusion before his teeth were as twisted as when I got him, and if he hadn’t been dumped on the street before I adopted him. But I loved having our bunnies, and I’m definitely going to check into rescues again. Even though my fiancee got a new bunny from a breeder who’s as healthy as can be! It’s a bit tempting…I have been under the impression that rescue rabbits may have more genetic issues since their breeding is unregulated, and the same for pet stores that breed for looks over health, but I have had good experiences with small breeders only breeding rabbits with no known genetic issues. However, I will try to check into different rescues that perhaps know a bit more what they are doing. I know with whatever rabbit I get I will take care of whatever health issues come up, so that’s kind of why I’m so cautious going back into this…I know I’d do anything to try to give these guys their best life, and I’d like to be able to just pay for regular check-ups and emergencies so I don’t go broke haha. I don’t think Humphrey ever made it more than three weeks without a trip to the vet for something (usually much more than that), and it was quite costly! I also feel bad that his life with me was full of stressful vet visits, icky medications, and painful ailments, especially his last day with me…he never really got a normal life, and I’d like to be able to give that to my future buns.

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